West Hartford Should Value Character Over Demolition

West Hartford's Masonic Temple, on South Main Street, has been razed to make way for apartments, retail and parking.

West Hartford's Masonic Temple, on South Main Street, has been razed to make way for apartments, retail and parking. (Jerry Dougherty's Connecticut)

ANDREW DORR | PLACE

At the heart of the word "contemplate" lies the word "temple," a place where people go to pray, reflect and give thanks. Ironically, true contemplation seems to have escaped those who purchased, razed and are in the process of replacing West Hartford's Masonic Temple (until last month located at 11 South Main St.) with — get ready for it — a 42,000 square-foot mixed-use property.

Sigh. Here we go again.

Over the years, many West Hartford residents and visitors who enjoy strolling through the charming town center (think old center, not Blue Back Square) have noticed and perhaps commented on the Masonic Hall's aesthetically distinct design. It was a handsome and historic background building that added to the center's New England character. Many have enjoyed the myriad uses this hall provided, such as Zumba and ballet classes.

But West Hartford, unlike many towns of similar ilk, seems unable or unwilling to celebrate and preserve the kinds of buildings that provide timeless character and charm to cities such as Guilford, or Wellesley, Mass., or Portsmouth, N.H. Unlike those places, West Hartford's leaders trade distinction and character for the expedient and generic.

According to a number of sources connected with the Masonic Hall purchase and demolition, West Hartford town officials showed little interest in offering the temple's owners a tax break so they could remain at 11 South Main St., nor would they grant the Masons the right to convert part of the space into a museum so they could apply for tax exemption. Once the property was sold to the owners of another business in the area, people appealed to the new owners to preserve it or, at the very least, maintain the facade, but the new owners refused. Now the building has been razed and soon parking, retail and apartments will go up on the site. It is hard to imagine that the new building will contribute to the street the way the old one did.

I have attended "open" town meetings when decisions regarding historic properties or valuable land is up for sale and debate, and I've come to two conclusions: First, these meetings are empty protocol designed to imitate a democratic process and appease the civically involved because decisions were already made; and second, town leaders have zero interest in and understanding of the kind of foresight great managers have when shaping a town's character.

Before the Elm Theater was sold to Walgreens; before the VFW was torn down and "relocated" to a spare corner of a parking garage; before the space across from the police station was slotted to become a high-rise hotel; and before the beautiful white house on the corner of Brace Road and South Main Street was razed to be rebuilt as a garish post-modern utilitarian structure, I and some of my neighbors met with West Hartford officials to discuss alternatives to demolishing these interesting and time-honored spaces and converting them into ones that marry old and new design and ingenuity. Nobody was interested.

How to get them interested?

The town has a design review advisory commission. But one wonders how well it was working when it approved the hideous first proposal for new apartments on Steele Road in June. An architect at the public hearing said, "All the buildings are terrible." People applauded him. Thankfully, the design was changed to one more in keeping with the neighborhood.

The town center works because the low-rise buildings work together to define the streets. A historic district in the center would be one way to help protect it from further needless demolition. Another tool that should be explored is a form-based zoning district, that looks more at the size and shape of the buildings rather than what they are used for.

I'm not saying every old building should be saved; some shouldn't be. But let's have a real discussion, not a pro forma prelude to demolition. Buildings such as the Masonic Hall that add to the integrity of a streetscape should have some protection, as part of a vision that respects the past. Otherwise West Hartford is in danger of becoming Anytown, USA.

Andrew Dorr of West Hartford is an English teacher and free-lance writer.